No, not automatically. Being a company director does not by itself oblige you to file a Self Assessment tax return. What decides it is your personal income and whether HMRC has told you to file. For most owner-managers and contractors the answer is still yes, because dividends are not taxed before you receive them, and a Notice to File from HMRC must be obeyed. Whether you file or not, your return is a separate job from the company’s accounts and Corporation Tax return.
This guide sets out who has to file, what has changed for directors of close companies, and the dates for the 2025 to 2026 tax year.
Is a director always required to file?
No legislation requires an individual to file a return solely because they are a company director. That was settled in 2017, when a First Tier Tribunal heard a director’s appeal against a £1,300 penalty for the 2014-15 tax year. At the time, HMRC’s guidance said a director must register for Self Assessment and send a personal return every year. The Tribunal said that guidance did not have the force of law and did not accurately reflect it. The director’s appeal was allowed in full.
Current GOV.UK guidance on Self Assessment is framed around income, not around holding an office. DNS Associates puts it simply: being a company director does not automatically mean you need to complete a return, although many directors do because of how they are paid.
The new reporting rules for directors, covered below, do not change this. They add questions to the return of a director who already has to file. They do not create a standalone requirement for every director to file.
When a director does need to file
The usual triggers for a director are:
| Trigger | Why it brings you into Self Assessment |
|---|---|
| Dividends above your dividend allowance | Tax is not deducted before a dividend is paid, so it has to be declared. The allowance is £500 for 2025/26. |
| Benefits in kind | For example a beneficial loan from the company, reported on form P11D |
| Untaxed income outside PAYE | Rental, investment, freelance or self-employed income, foreign income |
| Capital gains | Gains that need to be reported or paid |
| Income above certain thresholds, or tax not fully collected through PAYE | Any liability that PAYE has not dealt with |
| A Notice to File from HMRC | A formal request to complete a return |
Dividends are the usual reason
A salary run through the company’s payroll has been taxed as it was paid. Dividends have not. That is why most contractors who pay themselves a small salary and take the rest as dividends end up filing. If you want to see how the two fit together, our guide to salary and dividends for contractors in 2026-27 covers the mix.
When you do file, Sleek advises declaring the total dividends you received in the tax year, not just the amount above the allowance.
A letter from HMRC settles it
If HMRC writes to you asking for a return, you must send one by the deadline on the letter. GOV.UK says this plainly for the 2025 to 2026 tax year. A formal notice stays in force unless HMRC agrees to withdraw it. If you think you no longer need to send a return, you must contact HMRC and explain. Ignoring the notice can lead to penalties even if no tax is due.
Who may not need to file
Some directors who only receive a small salary through PAYE and have no other income may not need to file. That describes a salaried director of a company they do not own, or an owner who takes a small salary and no dividends. If that is you and you have never been asked to file, the position can still change if HMRC issues a notice, so keep your own record of the income you received.
Dormant company or no salary
A company being dormant, or you taking no salary, does not switch the duty on or off. Your obligation follows your personal income and any letter HMRC has sent you, not the company’s dormant status. A director of a dormant company with no other income, and no letter, may have nothing to file. A director of the same company who has rental income may well have.
The new reporting rules for directors of close companies
A close company is, broadly, a company under the control of its directors or of five or fewer participators, such as shareholders. Most contractors’ limited companies are close companies.
From the 2025/26 return, a director of a close company who is already filing a return must include:
- the name and registered number of the company
- the dividends received from it, declared separately from other UK dividends
- their percentage shareholding in the company, using the highest percentage if it changed during the year
The requirements take effect from 5 April 2025 under The Income Tax (Additional Information to be included in Returns) Regulations 2025. The government estimated about 900,000 directors would be affected.
A few practical points follow from how the rules are being read:
- The information goes on the SA102 employment pages, and a separate SA102 is completed for each directorship.
- Dormant companies are within scope, and a nil dividend or nil shareholding has to be reported where it applies.
- Answering the director and close company questions is mandatory.
- Failure to provide the information carries a fixed penalty. Professional commentary expects HMRC to apply a single £60 penalty per return, treating it as one composite obligation, rather than a penalty for every missing box.
The point worth repeating is that these rules apply to a director who already has to file. A director on PAYE only, with no other income and no letter from HMRC, is not pulled into Self Assessment by them.
Registering for Self Assessment
You must tell HMRC by 5 October if you need to complete a return for the previous year and either you have not sent a return before, or you registered before but did not need to send one for 2024 to 2025. You can tell HMRC by registering for Self Assessment.
For the 2025 to 2026 tax year, that date was 5 October 2026. It has passed. If you register after it, HMRC sends a letter or email with a different filing deadline, three months from the date on the letter or email. The tax itself must still be paid by 31 January 2027, or a penalty applies.
When you file, have your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) and your Government Gateway login ready.
Deadlines for the 2025 to 2026 tax year
| What | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Tell HMRC you need a return (first-time or returning filer) | 5 October 2026 |
| Paper return reaches HMRC | 11:59pm on 31 October 2026 |
| Online return, if you want the bill collected through your tax code | 11:59pm on 30 December 2026 |
| Online return, final deadline | 11:59pm on 31 January 2027 |
| Tax owed | 11:59pm on 31 January 2027 |
You can submit your return at any time from 6 April 2026 up to the deadline. If you do not know your profit for the whole year, you still need to send a return by the deadline. The 30 December date applies only if you want to pay the bill through your tax code. If you miss it, you have to pay another way.
Payments on account
Payments on account are advance payments towards your next tax bill, made in two instalments. Each is half of the tax you owed last year, and they fall due at midnight on 31 January and 31 July.
You must make them unless:
- last year’s tax bill was under £1,000, or
- you paid more than 80% of last year’s tax outside Self Assessment, for example through your tax code
If your actual tax is more than the payments on account, the difference is a balancing payment, due by midnight on 31 January the following year. It includes any capital gains or student loan amounts owed.
A worked example
GOV.UK’s example uses a £3,000 bill. Someone who made no payments on account the year before, for instance because it is their first time filing, pays both the £3,000 and the first payment on account of £1,500 on 31 January. That is £4,500 on that date. The second payment of £1,500 follows on 31 July.
For a director who has just started taking dividends, this is the part that surprises people. The first January bill is the full tax for the year plus an advance on the next. Sleek sets out the 2025-26 timeline the same way: the balancing payment plus the first instalment on 31 January 2027, and the second instalment on 31 July 2027. It also notes that payments on account can strain cash flow if your dividends fluctuate.
You can ask HMRC to reduce your payments on account, online or on form SA303, if you expect lower tax. If you reduce them and the bill turns out higher than expected, you are charged interest on the difference.
What happens if you miss the deadline
Missing the online filing deadline triggers an automatic £100 penalty, even if no tax is due. Late-payment penalties apply where tax is left unpaid. GOV.UK also states that missing the paper or online deadline gives a late filing penalty, and that missing the payment deadline gives a penalty. The figures for the later stages are on GOV.UK, so check them before you plan around the first one.
Two cases catch directors out:
- A nil-tax return. If you have been told to file, the £100 still applies when you owe nothing.
- Assuming the company’s filing covers you. It does not. Your return is separate from your company’s accounts and Corporation Tax return.
Director’s loans and benefits in kind
If your company lends you money and the account is overdrawn, there can be consequences in two places. The company may face a temporary Corporation Tax charge under section 455 rules. You may also face a personal benefit in kind or Income Tax charge, which is then reported on your return. Gather the director’s loan account balance before you start.
Make the numbers match the company’s records
HMRC cross-checks returns against company payroll records, dividend declarations and P11D submissions, and Sleek warns that a mismatch can trigger an enquiry. Reconcile your dividend vouchers to the company’s year-end accounts before you file.
Before you start, collect:
- your P60
- dividend vouchers
- any P11D
- director’s loan account balances
- records of other income
- your UTR and Government Gateway login
- last year’s tax bill, if you are on payments on account
When to get help
Directors with multiple companies, dormant companies, family companies, property companies or complex share structures, including different share classes, need to take more care. The new shareholding question is harder to answer when the percentage changed during the year, or when each class of share carries different rights.
If you are a contractor with one company, a salary and dividends, the job is more routine, but the deadlines are fixed and the first January bill is large.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all directors have to file a Self Assessment return?
No. You must file if your income, your dividends or a Notice to File from HMRC requires it. Directorship alone does not.
Do I need to register if I take no dividends?
Not necessarily. A director on a small PAYE salary with no other income may not need to file. If HMRC writes asking you to, you must.
What if my company is dormant?
Your duty follows your personal income and any HMRC letter. If you do file, the new rules still require you to report the dormant company, with nil figures where they apply.
Is the 5 October registration deadline still open?
For 2025 to 2026, no. If you register now, HMRC sends a letter with a filing deadline three months from its date. The tax is still due by 31 January 2027.
Does the director’s return replace the company’s accounts?
No. They are separate filings with separate deadlines.
How Deplexify helps
Deplexify’s contractor accounts and tax service covers limited company accounts and tax for UK contractors, so the company’s records and your personal figures are prepared from the same set of numbers.
Sources
- Check if you need to send a Self Assessment tax return - GOV.UK — gov.uk, read 2026-10-18
- Self Assessment tax returns: Deadlines - GOV.UK — gov.uk, read 2026-10-18
- Understand your Self Assessment tax bill: Payments on account - GOV.UK — gov.uk, read 2026-10-18
- New tax return requirements for sole traders and directors | ICAEW — icaew.com, read 2026-10-18
- Director's Tax Return Guide: What to Report | Sleek UK — sleek.com, read 2026-10-18
- New Director Tax Reporting Rules: What Business Owners and Property Company Directors Need to Know. — property-tax-advice.co.uk, read 2026-10-18
- Charlton Baker | Directors may not have to file a tax return — charltonbaker.co.uk, read 2026-10-18
- Self Assessment for Company Directors Explained — dnsassociates.co.uk, read 2026-10-18
- Company Director Tax Return: When Registration Is Needed — taxaccountantlondon.co.uk, read 2026-10-18
- Do Directors Need a Self Assessment Tax Return? — go-limited.co.uk, read 2026-10-18